Women's Information Consultative Center

RULES

According to the message of one of the trainers, in the student classroom where she conducted classes using the approaches of empowered education, it turned out that 70% did not know what the word "personalization" means, and 40% - "privacy". Therefore, when adopting the rules, it is necessary to ask whether those present are familiar with this word. If not, it is worth talking first simply about the meaning of the words. For this, you can use dictionaries - explanatory, foreign words, etc.
Speaking about the rule of voluntariness, it should not be forgotten during other exercises. In particular, sometimes, during a sequential survey, structured brainstorming or other techniques in the group, a question arises: You talk about voluntariness, but you force me to speak after the person who was called to start answering the questions. To avoid this, when explaining the exercise, you need to say that you are asking each and everyone to tell, and after the first volunteer, ask in which direction we will move with the answers. If the neighbors next to you (left or right) are not ready, you ask the next ones, etc. We just have to remember who we didn't hear in the first round.
When conducting the "Rules" exercise, you should remember that you must first ask whether the group accepts the rule, receive an affirmative answer, and ONLY THEN WRITE THIS RULE DOWN.
It is not necessary for the coaches themselves to evaluate the necessity of this or that rule. It is better if the group itself will answer the question about the need and expediency of the rule. To do this, the trainer must bring her down.
Rules of gender sensitivity are proposed to be adopted only at the training of trainers or in groups that have a sufficiently high awareness of the concept of gender.
It is important to remember the use of colors for writing, in particular, when writing rules. The marker should be RED.
If the group wants to add their own rules after writing down your proposed rules, coaches should be aware that a rule may be proposed that contradicts the rules already adopted. Therefore, before writing it down, you should consult with the group - does it not contradict the previous ones (for example, the rule of active participation); whether it will be possible to check its implementation (for example, the rule of sincerity), etc. Therefore, write down the rule only when you are sure that it is acceptable, so as not to cross it out later.
It is desirable to pay more attention to the gesture of raised hands as a warning about breaking the rules. This is not our random reception, but a deeply thought-out gesture. Open palms show our honest good intentions (on the one hand) and do not forcefully affect those on whom they are intended (on the other hand). Therefore, it is worth saying why exactly we offer it. Other offers can be discussed. For example, will the obligation to sing when breaking the rules or jump around on one leg be so non-violent for everyone.
EXPECTATION

If we do exercises in a group with other trainers, we should remember that almost all of our exercises require the participation of other trainers - not to interfere in the course of the explanation or analysis of the exercises, but for technical assistance. This is very clearly manifested in the exercise "Waiting". In particular, it is very important to paraphrase what the participants said so that your colleagues can write it down.
It is necessary to remember that each and every participant must start their expectation with the words "I expect...", thus forming a complete phrase, because it carries the FULL RESPONSIBILITY of those who utter it.
TERMS

Social expectations of reactions should not prevail in the attitude towards a person, and also interfere, in particular, during work at the training.
During training, especially at first, it is completely natural to feel nervous. It is worth realizing and not fighting with it, but OVERCOME, WORK, OR IT IS GONE, but by no means hide it inside.
Let's remember that time is a common issue for ALL TRAINERS, not just for those who are currently doing the exercise.
Due to the fact that coaches constantly have to face situations in their work, analytical skills must be high and correspond to these situations.
When explaining the exercise, it is desirable (and in complex exercises - mandatory) to repeat the task a second time (and sometimes a third time), asking the groups if everyone understands the task. When repeating, you should try to use fewer words, with clear articulation and small pauses between parts of the task.
When preparing for the task, it is advisable to prepare in advance as many questions as possible, which can be asked to the group, choosing different answer options and further questions after certain answers.
When conducting an exercise together with other trainers, it is worth preparing in advance for the exercises, in particular, preparing paper for recording. That is, it is worth checking whether the large sheets on the board have not run out, whether the sheets remaining from the previous exercise should be transferred, etc. If you are working alone, you need to think through such technical details in advance so as not to remain with your back to the audience for a long time while preparing for the exercise.
When you plan to work in small groups, first you should unite those present in these groups, ask everyone to sit down, but not walk in small circles - and only then explain the task. After that, you can "close" the circle and start working. If we first explain the task and then group the participants into groups, some may forget the task, and this may reduce the effectiveness of group work.
During the exercise, when we interview the group in a circle, you should not miss yourself in this circle, leaving yourself for the end of the exercise.
It is better to hand out the handouts not all immediately before the start of classes, but after or before (depending on the exercise) a specific exercise.
Let's not forget to say thank you after every response received, regardless of whether it is expected or not, whether we like it or not.
We do not force or oblige you to take notes at the training, unless it is a trainer training or a training course in the higher education system. Even in this case, we only encourage it, and if someone does not do it, it is worth paying attention and finding out why, because the training process in the future will depend on the work during training.
Let's remember that we try to avoid competition IN EVERYTHING AND IN ALL EXERCISES, wherever possible, and sometimes (at first glance!) it's impossible.
It must be remembered that in each exercise you should put a "PERIOD", that is, when summing up, emphasize it, or repeat what others said and that can serve as a summary, or reformulate something that was close in content to the summary from the exercise.
Remember, one of our unwritten rules is to AVOID DISCUSSION.
You can try to make a list of words that you think are aggressive or violent, and try to find for each of these words identical words in meaning, but from non-violent discourse.